The Spawn of Satan or Thank God for Little Brothers
Chapter 9: Beyond the Edge of Light
* * are for emphasis
Thoughts are in these thingies ~ ~
Author's Notes are AN
I DID IT!! I have finally convinced everyone who has ever even THOUGHT about
owning Sailor Moon-tachi to sell to me for a measly quadrillion dollars! HAHAHA!
It's MINE! ALL MINE!! MaiyaV, time for your medicine (sing-song) Yeees,
Mom! ^_~
Notes at bottom
If you don't like it, you'll probably burn in Hell.
* * * * *
~Well, it looks like we found D-Point this time~ Sailor Moon thought sourly.
Shivering in the icy wind, she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep
warm and waited for Mercury to tell them which way to go.
Where the Moon had been grey, D-Point in the Arctic was a solid white. And
absolutely freezing. The girls' fukus did little to insulate them against the cold, and they
were all turning a very interesting shade of blue. Sailor Moon envied Tuxedo Kamen
his cape, pants, and long sleeves, which at least cut the frigid wind.
"Hurry up, Mercury," she complained through chattering teeth.
"I'm trying, Sailor Moon, but I'm being blocked," Mercury replied calmly.
"Ooohh, but I'm freezing!" She hopped about semi-frantically, rubbing her arms
vigorously and looking exactly like her namesake.
"We're all freezing, Usagi-baka," Mars retorted hotly. "We don't need to be
stuck listening to your whining as well. I believe that's called 'cruel and unusual
punishment' in the United States of America."
Before Sailor Moon could start in, as she so dearly wanted to, Mercury stated,
"Got it, minna. This way." She began walking, and the others had no choice but to
catch up or get left behind.
They had gone perhaps a couple hundred yards, headed into the wind, when
there was a rumbling and the ground suddenly fell out from under them. Amidst yells,
curses, and screams, the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen were swallowed up by the white
Earth.
* * * * *
"Where are we?"
"I'm getting tired of hearing that," Mars complained.
"I'm getting tired of saying it," Venus replied.
"It's obvious we were caught in a Dark Kingdom trap," Mercury supplied.
"Is there any way out?" Tuxedo Kamen wondered aloud as he studied the ultra-
smooth walls of the chamber they had been unceremoniously dumped into. He ran his
hands over them, searching for a hidden door, a hatch, a crack, *something* that would
let them out.
"Can you get us out, Mercury?" Sailor Moon asked her friend.
"I'm checking." She scanned their prison with her visor and said, "My
calculations indicate that there's a corridor behind that wall." She pointed.
"Gotcha. SUPREME THUNDER!" Jupiter blasted said wall into rubble,
revealing an empty hallway stretching away in two directions.
The others gaped at her while Jupiter gave them the 'V is for victory' sign and
grinned wickedly. "If they didn't want it broke, they shouldn't have dropped us here."
The girls and Tuxedo Kamen sweat-dropped, then Venus shook her head. "Let's
get going. That blast probably attracted some unfriendly company that we *don't*
want to meet in this tiny room."
Everyone clambered out of Jupiter's hole, then let Mercury lead the way. She
pointed them in the most likely direction to find Queen Beryl, and they started off, alert
for the surprises they were sure were in store for them.
* * * * *
"How do we get *into* these messes?"
"I have no idea, Mars," Jupiter said when she managed a spare second after
tossing a youma into the far wall.
The six were currently surrounded by a very large number of youmas, their
backs to a wall, their escape on the other side of a spacious room.
"Well, how do we get out of this mess?!" Mars yelled.
"Like this. CRESCENT BEAM!" Venus blasted a path straight through the
youmas all the way to the opening.
"C'mon!" She led the charge, plowing right into the mass. The others quickly
followed her, punching and kicking their way through when the gap began to close.
When the last of them had reached the doorway safely, they turned and stopped,
prepared to fight. But the youmas had mysteriously halted.
"What are they doing?" Sailor Moon whispered nervously.
"Don't know," Jupiter shrugged.
"Let's get out of here before they make up their minds." Tuxedo Kamen started
inching into the mouth of the passage, and the others began backing up as well, keeping
one eye on the dark entrance and the other on the youmas. When they moved, the
youmas lunged forward.
"Minna, yamete," Mercury called. They stopped. The youmas stopped. "Take
two steps into the passage," she instructed. They obeyed and the youmas swarmed
forwards again. When the six stopped after the two steps, the youmas stopped also.
"Take two more steps, please."
"Why?" Mars sounded frustrated. "What's the point? If we move, they come
after us."
"Please, Mars. Trust me. I have a theory," she offered placatingly.
Mars rolled her eyes. "You always have a theory." But she took the two steps
with the others. Mercury remained where she was. The youmas didn't move.
"That's it," she said softly. "Someone's going to have to stay."
"What?" Now Mars was outraged. "Stay? Are you insane? We can't leave
someone in this place, let alone leave them *here*!" She swept an expansive arm in the
general direction of the youmas.
"You're right, Mars," Venus agreed. "We should leave two someones."
"Ugh. Not what I meant," Mars complained.
"No," Sailor Moon protested. "There're way too many. We might not even be
able to beat them if we all stayed together."
"We're not talking about fighting them, Sailor Moon," Mercury said. "A couple
of us will stay just to keep the youmas from following, but also so there's someone to
watch the other's back."
"Sounds good to me," Jupiter spoke up. "I'll stay."
"Oh, what the – I'll stay, too," Mars grumbled.
"Perhaps I – " Mercury began, but Mars cut her off.
"Uh-uh, no way, Mercury. Sailor Moon needs you more than we do."
"But your powers are offensive, and much stronger than mine," she argued
logically. "Surely you're needed to – "
"Yes, but *you're* the one who's got to lead everyone to Beryl," Jupiter pointed
out. "And don't call me Shirley," she dead-panned. (AN: Sorry, minna)
"True. But what about you?"
"I don't like us splitting up," Sailor Moon said.
"Me, neither." Mars rubbed her arms. "Bad vibes in this place, real bad."
"How do we find each other when we need to?" Tuxedo Kamen asked.
"It should be simple," Venus supplied. "We still have our communicators."
"So you guys page us when you find Beryl and we'll join you," Jupiter
suggested.
"What about – " Tuxedo Kamen jerked a thumb at the motionless youmas.
"Don't worry," Jupiter smiled. "We'll find a way."
Everyone reluctantly agreed, and Tuxedo Kamen, Sailors Moon, Venus, and
Mercury took off down the passage. Jupiter and Mars stayed behind and the youmas
did not pursue.
* * * * *
Sailor Moon was panting rapidly with the effort of keeping up with Venus.
"Which . . . way . . . now?" she huffed when they came to an intersection.
Venus shook her head. "Don't know," she managed to gasp out between deep
breaths. "Guess we'll try left." They turned as one and sped down the passage.
Things were not looking up. After leaving Jupiter and Mars, the rest of them
had wandered around, moving progressively deeper into the citadel of the Dark
Kingdom, when suddenly, Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen had been sucked through a
trapdoor in the floor. Though she cried and pounded with all her might, Sailor Moon
couldn't get the floor to open up again. Whether she wanted her friends returned to her
or to be swallowed up herself, to go wherever they had gone, wasn't clear. Finally
Venus had pulled her away with hands and words, convincing her friend that the others
could be found only if they kept moving.
Without Mercury's guidance, though, the two were stuck making the best
guesses they could, which mostly came down to instinct, luck, and a vague feeling that
something extremely *bad* was sort of in that direction. Unfortunately, someone was
obviously playing with them, as they eventually ended up back in the room where they'd
left Mars, Jupiter, and a slew of youmas. But there was no sign of the pair now, and
the two Senshi had been forced to run when the youmas spotted them. Standing still
didn't seem to work anymore.
Sailor Moon couldn't stop thinking about her friends. Mars, Jupiter – what had
happened to them? Were Mercury and Tuxedo Kamen okay? Where were they all?
Why hadn't they used their communicators? When she and Venus had tried theirs, all
they got was static. But the homing beacon was still working. Why was that? What if
the reason she hadn't been able to reach anybody was because they were all dead? That
was it. Beryl had tricked them into splitting up, then she had captured the others and
killed them.
Suddenly she couldn't breathe any longer. She halted abruptly and dropped to
her knees, fists pressed against the cold stone floor, tears running down her face.
Venus stopped and came back. "Sailor Moon . . .?"
"It's . . . hopeless . . . " she sobbed. "They're . . . they're all dead . . . I just
know it." She raised imploring eyes to Venus, grasping her friend's wrist tightly
between her trembling hands. "We should leave. Now. Before anything else happens.
We'll think up a new plan; have Luna and Artemis train us better."
"Sailor Moon, they're not dead." Venus' voice was velvet-sheathed steel.
"You don't know that!"
"I do. I feel it." She smiled. Normally she was beautiful when she smiled, but
her faith . . . that made her shine. "You feel it, too, admit it."
Sailor Moon nodded reluctantly, letting go of Venus' wrist to dry her eyes. "I
do," she whispered. "I do."
"Good. Come on, then. We'll never find anyone just sitting around," she said
wryly.
"We shouldn't have come. We weren't ready." There was a quiet, peculiar
despair in Sailor Moon's voice, totally at odds with her normal genki personality.
Venus frowned worriedly. "Perhaps not," she allowed. "But we were right to
want to protect the ones we love. Now, are you coming?"
Sailor Moon slowly stood and looked at her friend, a long and searching look.
Then she nodded and hugged her fiercely. "Arigatou, Venus-chan."
Venus hugged her back, quickly, then they broke apart and took off to find their
friends.
* * * * *
Sailors Moon and Venus cautiously edged their way out of the corridor and into
an enormous room. They couldn't actually *see* how big the room was, it being
swathed in darkness and all, but their few footsteps echoed in a most imposing way.
Not knowing what dangers might await them, but not able to turn back, they decided to
circle the room, keeping one hand on the wall and their steps short and careful.
When the way they had entered from was only a smear against the black, the
two remaining Senshi were blinded by a sudden powerful light flooding the area where
they stood, arms thrown up to protect their abused eyes as they braced for attack.
Squinting against the harsh glare, Sailor Venus struggled to make out the
shadow she had glimpsed hovering beyond the edge of the light.
"Dare ga – ?" she called out challengingly. The only answer the mysterious
figure gave was derisive laughter.
"I think we're trouble," Venus murmured to her Princess.
"Chigau." The voice was as mockingly pleasant as the laugh. "You're dead."
The woman, for the voice was a deep but feminine alto, glided into the sphere
of light a step at a time, obviously relishing her dramatic entrance. Her very presence
radiated negative energy, enough to absorb the light she stood in, transforming the
bright glare to a sickly yellowish glow.
Venus took up a defensive position in front of her princess and, loathing
coloring her tone black, hissed one word.
"Beryl."
"I was beginning to wonder if I should send someone to fetch you. All your
other little friends arrived long ago." She gestured, and four separate areas in the great
room lit up simultaneously. There, chained in a row to the wall, were the missing
Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen. Hands above their heads, arms yanked back in a position
painful to behold, each and every one of them were slumped forwards, unconscious and
unresisting at the cruel treatment being visited upon them by their enemies.
"Minna!" Sailor Moon screamed.
Only Sailor Mars stirred. Moving as if every muscle in her body weighed a
hundred pounds each, she managed to raise her head enough to look in her leader's
direction. But her gaze was unfocused, and the only two free Senshi left cringed at the
sight of blood streaking their friend's exotic features.
It took a few tries, but Mars finally croaked out, in a voice hoarse from
screaming, "Baka . . . Don't sound . . . so worried. Hurry up and . . . trash this bitch . .
. so . . . we can . . . all . . . go . . ." Her voice faded as she spoke, and before she could
finish, her head drooped and her body sagged against its bonds as her strength drained
away and she blacked out again.
"Mars!"
Sailor Mars!"
The two Senshi were catapulted back into the wall as they frantically tried to
rush to their friends. Sailor Moon was back up immediately and pounding on the shield
that had unexpectedly caged them. When physical attacks didn't so much as scratch it,
she leapt back and grabbed her tiara.
"MOON TIARA – KYAAAA!!!!!!"
The girls screamed in agony as bolts of dark energy lanced out from the shield,
striking into them, knocking them down.
"Now, now," Beryl chided when the rain of black lightning ceased, her voice
revealing her malicious enjoyment of the torture, "guests must always remember to be
on their best behaviour. Especially when visiting with a queen." A cruel smile twisted
naturally striking features into something hideous, hinting at worse to come. "And to
ensure your continued good behaviour, I took the liberty of securing some – how shall
we say – insurance?"
Another light blossomed directly opposite from the Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen.
Sailor Moon was shocked speechless as she met the terrified eyes of the person hanging
by his wrists from a chain that vanished into the depths of the ceiling.
"SHINGO!"
She found her voice in a burst of horror at seeing her little brother caught in the
lair of her worst enemy. This was what they'd been trying to avoid.
~It's all been for nothing,~ she thought numbly. ~It's over. We've lost.~
"Nee-chan!" Shingo was terrified, but also deadly ashamed at having been
captured so easily. "Gomen! I tried . . . Luna and Artemis tried to protect me . . . but I
couldn't get away fast enough . . . I couldn't run . . . I'm sorry!"
Shingo's impassioned cry struck Sailor Moon like an arrow to the heart, instantly
snapping her out of her benumbed state.
~No. NO! We aren't dead yet!~
Righteous outrage blazing in her eyes like a funeral pyre, her gaze locked onto
Beryl, and if will alone could have done the trick, the Queen of the Dark Kingdom
would have burst into flame on the spot. Even Venus and Shingo were shocked at the
strength of the anger emanating from Sailor Moon. As it was, the force of her rage
lashed out at Beryl like a living thing, making itself felt so powerfully that Beryl took an
unconscious step back. This obviously wasn't going as she had planned. Then she
caught herself and straightened, fury at being made to quail before anyone showing in
every rigid line of her body. The unchecked violence on her face promised dire
retribution.
Sailor Moon kept her eyes on Beryl the whole time as she reached for her tiara
once more.
"MOON – "
As soon as she spoke, the black lightnings flared from the shield, raking her and
Venus from head to toe. Though reeling in agony and covered in burns, Sailor Moon
refused to be cowed.
~I – can – do – this!~
Gritting her teeth, she forced out –
"TIARA – "
The lightnings increased in strength and frequency. Sailor Moon couldn't help
the short scream that escaped her. She squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her hands.
The small pain of her fingernails digging into her palms gave her something else to
focus on besides the horrendous pain being dealt her. Taking a deep breath, she
screamed with all her might –
"ACTION!"
In the same moment she threw her tiara, she heard, just behind her –
"CRESCENT BEAM!"
Venus' attack merged with Sailor Moon's tiara, and they smashed through the
shield together, shattering it. The black lightnings recoiled on Beryl, and she screeched
in pain and anger as they focused in on her.
Sailor Moon grabbed her tiara on the rebound and quickly shouted, "MOON
TIARA ACTION!" The Senshi and Tuxedo Kamen sprawled across the floor, freed
from their bonds, and Shingo suddenly found himself dropping through the air like a
brick as the tiara sheered through the chain he was suspended from. Before he had
time to do more than let out a startled yell, Venus caught him in mid-fall. Less than
five seconds later, they were safely on the ground.
"Help me check them," Venus commanded, kneeling next to an unconscious
Mars. Sailor Moon was already there, hovering anxiously over Tuxedo Kamen, but she
spared a second to hug Shingo fiercely as he hobbled over to her. He was ready to
apologize again, but she whispered, "It's not ever your fault that you couldn't do
anything against Beryl. Thank you for what you *could* do."
"What? I don't understand." Shingo pulled back, studying his nee-chan's teary
eyes in bewilderment.
She managed a small smile. "I was ready to give up. But seeing you reminded
me why I had to fight; why I couldn't allow myself to just give in without having tried
my absolute best. Like I know you did. If I try like that, if I give everything I have,
even if Beryl kills me, I can't lose."
"That's right." A hand fell on her shoulder and she whirled, gladness and relief
mixing with the tears in her eyes.
"Mamo-chan!" She all but threw herself into his embrace. "Daijoubu?!" she
demanded, framing his face with her hands.
"Hai. Nothing serious." He gripped her hand as they stood to face the others,
who were also back on their feet. Everyone seemed all right, barring the occasional
ugly bruise or nasty cut that looked worse than it was. All except for Mars, that is.
The blood still streaked her face, and she had a hand to her head as if to prevent it from
rolling off.
"Minna, daijoubu? Mars?" Sailor Moon asked worriedly.
"We're all okay," Venus asserted. "Mercury checked them over."
"Yes," Mercury's soft voice confirmed. "Mars' injured the worst, and she only
has a slight concussion."
"Nandemonai," Mars waved them all off irritably. "It's nothing killing Beryl
won't fix."
"You got that right," Jupiter agreed viciously. She was sporting a beauty of a
black eye, which was already puffing up and turning a deep shade of purple. She
cracked her knuckles as she peered around the murky room out of her good eye.
"Where is that bitch?"
"I-I don't know." Venus turned a complete circle as she surveyed the room.
"She *was* here. When the shield broke, it recoiled on her and then – "
"Then we lost track of her," Sailor Moon finished in a dismayed tone.
"Coward," Mars scoffed. "Ran away."
"I don't think so, Mars," Mercury denied, playing with her computer. "I think – "
she broke off as the room began to rumble. Cracks appeared in the floor and walls, and
chunks of the ceiling began to crash down around them. The Senshi formed a tight
circle, Tuxedo Kamen carrying Shingo in the middle.
"What? She couldn't beat us, so now she's gonna bury us?" Jupiter yelled above
the tumult.
"That's not it!" Mercury shouted urgently. "There's power building up under us,
a lot of power! This whole area is going to be destroyed if it continues! We have to
get to the surface!"
"Mars! Can you do it?!"
"Don't worry about me, Odango Atama! Let's get out of here! MARS
POWER!"
The others followed her lead without hesitation.
"MERCURY POWER!"
"JUPITER POWER!"
"VENUS POWER!"
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
"SAILOR TELEPORT!"
They were whisked away just as the floor started to buckle and the ceiling
caved in. The next they knew, they were back in the open air, exposed to the violently
biting winds and the pelting snow of the Arctic. A half-mile distant they could espy a
crater, newly formed, with greasy black smoke rising from it in waves to stain the sky
for as far as the eye could see.
"Is-is that it?" Shingo asked breathlessly. "Did we win?"
"No." Mercury shook her head. "That power I mentioned? It's heading this
way. Fast."
"And it probably won't be too happy when it gets here," Jupiter added.
They felt the rumbling then. Not like before, this was more distant, but it was
getting nearer every second.
"Shingo, get back, get away!" Sailor Moon yelled. He did as she ordered,
limping away as fast as his ankle would let him, but the merciless shaking of the ground
tossed him down before he'd gone ten feet.
A sudden plume of dirt, rock, ice, and snow exploded right where the Senshi
were valiantly attempting, and miserably failing, to keep their own balance. The girls
were thrown in all directions, and Tuxedo Kamen ended up some distance behind
Shingo.
But Sailor Moon . . .
"Nee-chan!"
Shingo was forced to watch, helpless, as she was sucked into the pit,
disappearing from sight.
* * * * *
End Chapter 9
Sorry 'bout the long wait. I seem to have lost interest in my little project. Therefore, I
don't know when, or even if, I'll have chapter 10 out. It'll probably be out sooner or
later, seeing as how I hate loose ends . . . but don't hold your breath.
What to say, what to say . . . Happy New Year! Happy birthday to my imouto-chan!
She is now legally able to gamble, vote, and buy ciggies for our mother.
It seems to me that Shingo is coming off as rather . . . whiny. I wanted to use him as
one of the main motivators for Sailor Moon, but he apologizes waaaayyy too much.
What do you guys think? Ah, well. He *is* a kid, after all.
Sorry there isn't a lot of Usagi/Mamoru sappiness. There will be in the last chapter,
promise.
"Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less; say more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours."
~Swedish Proverb
Peace, luv, and pocky!
MaiyaV ^_~
maiyav@yahoo.com
Japanese Word Key:
Yamete – 'Stop' or 'Don't'
Genki – The best word I can think of is 'Perky', although words like 'Terminally
Cheerful' also come to mind. I've seen it translated as 'Energetic' or 'Peppy'. Difficult
to pin down in English. It means all these things and more I haven't listed.
Arigatou – Same as 'Arigato' but with a bit more accent on the end.
Dare ga – Here, I used it to say 'Who's there?' Seen it as 'Who is it?' also.
Chigau – 'Wrong' or 'You're wrong' or 'That's wrong' or 'That's not it' or 'That's not
right' . . . You get the idea, ne?
Nee-chan - Same as Onee-chan, without the 'O'
Imouto - 'Little Sister'